Berry's Picks

Comanche County Walk Across Texas Event

13,924 almost 14,000 miles, that is the total miles walkers from the county logged during recent Comanche County Walk Across Texas (WAT) event. The spring WAT program just wrappedup. We had 7 teams of 8 folks per team, so a total of 56 head participated in the program. 13,924 miles is an impressive mileage total for 56 people to walk over the 8-week program. The goal for each team was to walk the 832 miles it would take to cross Texas during the eightweek period. I am happy to say all teams easily surpassed this goal, several teams surpassed the goal more than once and one team almost made 5 trips across the state.

Walking for 2.5 hours a week—that’s just 21 minutes a day—can cut your risk of heart disease by 30%. In addition, this do-anywhere, no-equipment-required activity has also been shown to reduce the risk of diabetes and cancer, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and keep you mentally sharp. In fact, according to some estimates, walking regularly could save Americans over $100 billion a year in health care costs. Even a quick oneminute jaunt pays off. A University of Utah study in 2014 found that for every minute of brisk walking that women did throughout the day, they lowered their risk of obesity by 5%. To quote my old friend Plato “Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” Hopefully, the Comanche County WAT program has helped at least 56 folks preserve their good health and maybe inspired a few others.

Now to recognize the teams and high walking individuals. Our champion team was “Are We There Yet?” they logged an incredible 3875 miles; Omar Pruitt was the team’s top walker with 614 miles. The second-place team was “Walk More Eat More” with 2443 miles, the top walker for the team was Arturo Ramirez, Arturo was also the overall top walker with a whopping 866 miles. The third ranked team was “Tourde-Feet” with 1820 total miles, the top walker for this team was Erica Duran with 327 miles. The next team was the “Savages” with a total of 1532 miles, Melissa White was their top walker with 277 miles. “The Hot Checks” came next with 1433 miles and Rita Hairston was the top walker with 486 miles. “Stroll Your Roll” came next with 1378 miles. The “Accelerators” started at the halfway mark of the program, but still had a good showing with 1233 team miles and Mindy McCamey was the top walker with 307 miles. All the teams and individuals did an excellent job, and good time was had by all.

We need to thank these great local sponsors: AccelHealth, Comanche County Electric Cooperative, Farley Farm Supply and Texas Bank. These sponsors helped cover the cost of T-Shirts and major awards for the top individual and team. Be sure to keep an eye out for the fall WAT event, we will be hosting starting September 12th.